Olé Football Academy: Overseas (November 2017)

It has been another exciting week for Olé Football Academy, with several former academy standouts earning accolades around the world.

PEC Zwolle midfielder Ryan Thomas started and played all 90 minutes for Anthony Hudson’s All Whites as they drew Peru 0-0 in the first leg of the 2018 World Cup qualification play-off matchup at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The All Whites travel to Peru for the second leg of the play-off matchup on Wednesday evening. Thomas currently has 17 international caps, during which he has scored 3 goals.

Tyler Lisette appeared in 29 games with the first team at IFK Varnamo, making 28 starts. Varnamo concluded the 6th in the Superettan table, the second division in Sweden. An incredible feat for the tiny club. Tyler saw 2562 minutes of action during the campaign, which ranked 4th on the team.

Callum McCowatt, Harry Edge and Owen Parker-Price have all begun the season strong for Auckland City FC in the New Zealand National League. Callum has three goals to his name already, while Harry recently earned a start in central midfield in a 3-0 win over Canterbury. Owen began the season as a starter before recently breaking his metatarsal! Ouch!!!

Craig Henderson and the Indy Eleven wrapped up their NASL season with a draw against North Caroline FC. Craig finished the season with 18 appearances and 7 starts for Indy, who finished the campaign in 8th position in the NASL fall season standings.

Sasha Sneyd was recently awarded the Rutherford Scholarship for his research entitled “Application of Metal Halide Perovskites and Other Semiconductor Materials to Photovoltaic Devices“. It’s a full 3-year scholarship to Cambridge, with all fees paid, and £14000/year for living expenses. We are extremely proud of him.

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In NCAA action, Dom Wooldridge continued his strong freshman campaign with Albany, being named to the America East All-Rookie team. On Sunday, Dom started and recorded one shot as Albany defeated the University of Massachusetts – Lowell in the America East Championship game, clinching an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The Great Danes currently have a record of 14 wins, four losses and two draws, and will travel to College Park, Maryland where they will take on the University of Maryland Terrapins in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Dom has started 14 of 20 matches so far, while making another four appearances as a substitute.

Ihaia Delaney came off the bench for Lipscomb University, as the Bisons defeated Jacksonville University 2-1 in the finals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Ihaia has played in 18 of 20 matches for the Bisons this fall, making three starts. He was also named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Rookie team after recording 3 goals so far this season. Lipscomb will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they will face Butler University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Josh Greene started for Seattle University as they defeated San Jose State University by a score of 2-1 to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Josh came off the bench in the semi-finals in the semi-finals when Seattle defeated the University of Nevada – Las Vegas in penalty kicks, andplayed all 90 minutes as the Redhawks defeated California State University-Bakersfield 3-0 in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Seattle will play local rival the University of Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will then travel to Akron, Ohio to face the University of Akron Zips.

University of Loyola–Chicago senior Elliot Collier was named to the All – Missouri Valley Conference First Team for the second consecutive season after leading the Ramblers in scoring this fall. Elliot recorded four goals and five assists, while starting all 18 matches.

Cory Brown and Joash Sutherland both started this week for Xavier University, as they lost to Georgetown University 2-1 in the second over-time period of the Big East Conference championship match. Xavier had defeated Providence College and Butler University in the first and second rounds of the Big East Conference tournament. Cory picked up an assist against Providence, bringing his season total to three, and scored a goal and penalty kick in the win over #1 seeded Butler. Cory started all 20 of the Musketeers’ games, while Joash had eight starts and ten substitute appearances. Cory was also named First Team All-Big East for the third consecutive season.

In other Big East action, Andrew Withers and the St. John’s University Red Storm fell to Georgetown University in the Big East Conference tournament semi-finals. St. John’s had previously defeated Creighton University 3-1 in the first round of the conference tournament. Withers played every minute for St John’s this season, picking up eight clean sheets in 19 matches. Andrew conceded only fourteen goals all season, and his save percentage of .835% and goals against average of .705 rank 12th and 21st respectively across all of NCAA Division I Soccer.

Noah Billingsley started as the University of California – Santa Barbara lost to the University of California – Riverside 1-0 in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament. Noah finished the season with two goals and two assists, starting 11 of 18 matches, making another three appearances as a substitute.

Mohamed Awad started and recorded two shots on goal, however the Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville fell to the #10 University of Akron 2-1 in the semi-finals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Awad started 11 matches this fall, after missing the beginning of the season due to injury, and recorded a goal and two assists.

The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley faced San Jose State University in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Mikey Faber played all 90 minutes as UTRGV was defeated by a score of 2-0. Mikey started all 17 matches for the Vaqueros, as they finished the season with an overall record of 7-7-3.

San Diego State University defender Kyle Adams started and played all 90 minutes as the Aztecs routed the University of California – Los Angeles 4-0 in their regular season finale. Kyle started all 19 matches this fall, scoring one goal, as SDSU finished the season with a record of 6-13-0.

Eric Keefe and Mason Kelliher both started as Willamette University fell to the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA DIII Tournament. Both Eric and Mason played in all 18 matches this season, making 16 and 14 starts respectively.